Project Introduction

About Kone

Kone Corporation, founded in 1910, is one of the biggest international corporations in the world elevator and escalator industry. During its history, Kone has been involved in different businesses such as textile manufacture, medical technology and the design of hydraulic piping systems. However, the company’s focus has always been the elevator and escalator business. Kone’s head office is in Helsinki, Finland.

Products and services

Kone’s offering is divided into two business lines: Service Business and New Equipment Business.

Basically, the New Equipment Business line provides customers with new products and services that are directly related to products (e.g. installation) and solutions customized for customers. Meanwhile, the Service Business line is in charge of modernizing and maintaining customers’ installed products.

Locations

Kone is currently operating in some 50 countries around the world and has authorized distributors in over 60 countries. The company’s locations come into five geographical areas: Central and North Europe, West and South Europe, Greater China, Asia-Pacific and Middle East, and the Americas. It is therefore apparent that the company has a competitive advantage of being internationally experienced.

Internationalization potential – Target country

Due to the growing demand of space and the lack of areas in newly urbanized cities, buildings are growing upwards or downwards instead of expanding more widely, which results in a rising potential need for Kone’s products/services. Finland as the company's host country does not offer same kind of growing possibilities as the bigger markets in Asia and Latin America, where new buildings are being built everyday.

Within the scope of this project, we will focus on making marketing plan for Kone going to South Korea where the urbanization trend is taking place (perhaps) the most strongly in Asia besides China, India, etc.

Source: www.kone.com